Five years after Lars Mittank became 'most famous missing person on YouTube' his family still clings to hope
A 28-year-old man from northern Germany, Lars Mittank, is now being described as the "most famous missing person on YouTube" after he disappeared nearly six years ago in Bulgaria on July 8, 2014.
The mystery, to this date, has remained unsolved.
A 30-second video footage of Mittank running from an airport terminal and straight towards a forest has triggered multiple conspiracy theories over the years, as he continues to remain missing. Reports state that the clips from the terminal, where the man disappeared, have been watched more than 16 million times.
The clip taken from a CCTV footage at the Varna Airport in Bulgaria is the last time anyone saw or heard anything of Mittank. The 28-year-old, in the footage, can be seen running dressed in a yellow t-shirt, in apparent fear of his life, over a security fence and into a forest.
Mittank, reportedly, left behind a rucksack and suitcase, which contained his wallet, passport and phone. However, his possessions failed to provide any clue into his disappearance.
Reports state that Mittank, in July 2014, had flown to the Bulgarian seaside resort of Golden Sands along with his friend from their home in Itzehoe, northern Germany.
The group of friends continued to enjoy their holiday until Lars was injured after he got into a fight one night. Reports state that fans of Werder Bremen, a German sports club, had allegedly brawled with a group of Bayern Munich fans when Mittank got separated from the rest of his group in a McDonald's restaurant.
Mittank was punched in the head and was left with a perforated ear-drum and a possible concussion. He was then prescribed an antibiotic called Cefuroxime 500 and was forced to stay back in Bulgaria while his friends flew home.
The young man was advised by a health expert to avoid boarding the plane as the air pressure changes would have hurt his ear, according to reports.
Mittank eventually had to check into a cheap hotel called Hotel Color, near Varna Airport, as he saw his friends for the last time leaving in the plane.
One of Mittank's friends in the group later told a German television that Lars was "relaxed" and in a "good mood" when they left him.
However, Mittank's mother got a horrifying call from her son later from his hotel room, where her panicked son told her that he was being followed by some people who were trying to kill him. He reportedly told his mother to cancel his bank cards.
Mittank's mother, Sandra Mittank told a German TV: "I thought, god, my son is in danger. I could hear his heart pounding over the phone. He said people were trying to rob him or kill him."
He also sent a text to his mother asking her about the antibiotics he had been prescribed by the physician.
According to a CCTV footage of that hotel, Mittank was seen flustered, pacing up and down the hotel foyer, looking out the windows and even hiding in a lift.
Reports state that Mittank left the hotel at 1 am before returning later. No one knows till date where he went during that time.
The next day, Mittank texted her mother saying that he had safely made it to the airport terminal, however, when an airport doctor was examining him before flying, he reportedly appeared "nervous and erratic" and was also mistrustful of the drugs he had been prescribed by the physician.
The airport doctor, Dr Kosta Kostov, later said that Mittank began to tremble when he saw a construction worker entering the room and cried: "I don't want to die here. I have to get out of here."
It was then when the man began running from the airport terminal, leaving all his belongings behind, running for his life passing the boarding gates, check-in desks and baggage drop zones.
He was never spotted again after that incident.